Sick Day
by FallenJustice
Summary: My first FanFic. Claire is sick, she and Shane have the day together. But what happens if Claire's illness gets worse? Please R R :)
1. Just the beginning

Claire grimaced as she looked at her pale reflection in the mirror. Her hair fell lanky and matted around her face. Her nose was taking on a pink and red tinge. She dragged herself out of the bathroom, still dressed in her tank top and cotton pyjama shorts. They were Shane's favourite because they were soft and had little white clouds on them.  
She crawled beneath the covers of her bed, shivering. Claire curled up in a tight ball, clutching her queasy stomach. She didn't even hear Shane enter the room; she only looked up when he settled himself cautiously on the edge of her bed. "Hey." His voice was quiet and smooth, and he hadn't combed his wild bed-head down. Claire didn't mind though, in fact she quite liked his hair that way, he always looked beautiful to her. She gazed up into his large brown eyes and smiled  
"Hi." Claire was taken aback by how hoarse her voice was. Shane noticed this.  
"You don't look well. You're staying home." He said confidently.

"No!" She protested. Claire tried to sit up but Shane immediately pushed her shoulders back down onto the mattress and held her there with his muscular hands.

"No arguments. You look like hell." He stroked her cheek and moved a piece of hair from her face to tuck it gently behind her ear. Claire moaned and hid her face in the duvet. "Do you want anything?"

"I want a lot of things, Shane."

He chuckled. "You always do." And in that moment he climbed into her bed and slid his strong arms around her. Instant warmth. "You're freezing." His warm breath on her neck made her shiver in delight. Claire moaned and nuzzled her face into Shane's chest. His fingers trailed down her spine. "You're wearing my favourite pyjamas. It's like you planned on being sick today."

"Well, somehow, my other pyjamas shrunk in the wash."

"I wonder how that happened." Shane flashed his cocky grin at her, when she looked up he kissed her passionately on the lips. It made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end.

"I'm sick, Shane. You'll catch it." Shane simply shrugged in reply and held her closer, but gently, as if she might shatter into a thousand tiny pieces any second. She laid her head on his chest and closed her eyes, soon enough she was sound asleep.

Claire woke up alone. She sleepily opened her eyes to the blinding sunlight creeping in from the slender gap in the curtains. She rubbed her eyes and sat up, wincing at the pain in her chest and neck. After sliding out of bed she pulled on the white, fluffy dressing gown that Shane had bought her for her birthday, along with a matching pair of slipper socks, with little pink bunny heads on the sides. Claire made her way to the door, opening it only slightly to peak out at the empty hallway. She looked around her room with a look of confusion upon her face. Then she spotted a yellow sticky-note stuck on her bedside lamp. She pulled it off and read it.

**_You looked so peaceful, didn't want to disturb you._**

**_Gone to play video games._**

**_Love you._**

**_ Shane._**

Claire let a smile tug at the corners of her mouth, looking at Shane's scrawny handwriting with little hearts over the I's that he only did for her. She re-opened her bedroom door and made her way out into the hall, silently. Eve was at work at Common Grounds and Michael had found a job at Amelie's office, he hadn't said exactly _what_ it was he did there, but it must have been important because he came back with a broad smile across his angelic face, the day he had told them. She sat down, halfway down the stairs, watching Shane kill zombies on his video game. The smile stayed on her pale face, even watching him violently kill zombies with machine guns made her heart flutter. The step on which she sat creaked under her as she shifted her weight, Shane immediately paused his game and turned to luck at her.

"Afternoon, sleeping beauty." He said, smiling at her through the bars of the stairs. She stood up and he winced sarcastically at her appearance. "Maybe not so much the beauty."

Claire rolled her eyes, descended the last of the steps and made her way over to the couch. Shane's gaze followed her as she moved, and when she got close enough, he grabbed the belt of the dressing gown and pulled her down onto the couch. Shane cradled Claire in his arms in a way that made her want to say there for eternity. He kissed the tender skin of her neck and stroked her hair gently. "How are you feeling?"

"Better... Kind of." Claire whispered in reply.

"Kind of?" The leather of the couch creaked as Shane carefully shifted himself and Claire to a more comfortable position.

"Well I missed some classes today." Claire murmured.

"You and those classes." Shane tutted and turned off his game console. "Do you want a drink or something? I could make chili?"

Claire nodded. "Chili sounds good." She smiled and sat up just enough to let him slide off the couch and pad down towards the kitchen in his sock feet.

"Michael and Eve are going out tonight, they won't be back until late. They're going to watch a movie and go to dinner or something." Shane called from behind the closed kitchen door. "They told me to tell you."

"Okay. I'm going to get dressed." She stood up and jumped a little as Shane opened the kitchen door with a loud bang.

"You're not going out." He warned in a matter-of-factly kind of way.

"No, I know that you'd never let me. I'm going to put something warmer on." Which earned Claire a disappointed moan from Shane.

"But I like those pyjamas." He stuck out his bottom lip and did his irresistibly adorable puppy-dog eyes.

Claire simply shrugged and headed upstairs to shower and change.

**Twenty minutes passed.**

The shower felt good, it seemed to give Claire back her lost energy, although she still felt a little groggy. She pulled on a pair of black sweat pants and a too-large T-shirt with a faded rose on it and her slipper socks. She padded down the stairs and was instantly hit with a strong smell of Shane's famous chili. She pushed open the kitchen door and lent against the door frame, crossing her arms over her chest. Shane was busy chopping unions to put into the pot and didn't notice her standing there. Claire smiled and continued to gaze at her boyfriend, she watched the muscles on his back tense and relax with every chop of the knife. She took her time to notice every detail about him, the way the ends of his shaggy hair brushed his shoulders, how familiar he was with making the chili that it had become his second nature and the instant smile that spread across his tanned face when he turned and saw her watching him.

"Hungry?" He asked, flashing her the smile he only gave her.

"Mm hmm." She nodded and stepped forward, letting the kitchen door swing shut.

Shane's hands slid onto her hips and pulled her closer. Their bodies seemed to fit together perfectly like two jigsaw pieces. Claire being a fair bit shorter than Shane meant that his chin only just brushed the top of her head. He pulled back a little and bent down to kiss her. It seemed like it was only intended to be a short kiss, but it soon turned into something more. Claire was hungry, not only for chili, but for Shane too. She ran her fingers through his soft hair and he picked her up, sitting her on the kitchen counter. Shane broke the kiss way too soon, Claire let a whimper escape her lips and Shane pressed his index finger to them. "Shhh. Call that a down payment for later." He smiled at her cockily and winked before going to the stove to serve up the piping-hot chili.

Claire sat curled up on the couch in Shane's arms as they both ate. The chili made her feel a lot better, it warmed her from the inside and the body head from being so close to Shane kept her warm on the outside. They stayed curled in each others arms for hours, talking, joking, laughing and Claire even attempted a few games of Zombie Killer 2, which she promptly lost.

At around 11 o'clock, Michael and Eve returned, their arms around each other as they walked into the living room. Claire had her head in Shane's lap while Shane stroked her hair like he always did. Claire looked up at Michael and Eve and smiled. "Hey. Have fun?"

"Yeah." Eve replied. Michael nodded. "Michael is such a sweetheart, he took me to watch that new romance movie and then out for the _best_ dinner."

Michael grinned and kissed her hand. "I'm glad you enjoyed yourself, Mrs Glass." Michael motioned to Claire and Shane that he was going up to his room, and after re-appearing from the kitchen with a mug of coffee, Eve went upstairs too.

"Just me and you." Shane whispered.

"It's been that way all day." Claire replied, a little confused.

"Yeah, but now it's night-time." Which made Claire giggle.

"What happened to keeping your word?" Claire asked.

Shane chuckled and scooped her up in a princess carry. Claire rested her head on Shane's chest as, much to her surprise, Shane took her into his room. He lowered her onto his mattress and walked around to the other side of the bed and slid in, pulling the covers over them both and wrapping his arms around Claire's waist. Almost instantly, Claire fell asleep, feeling safe, warm and protected.

**My first FanFic, so please review and give me ideas for another one? Hope you liked it, if you didn't then I'm sorry :) xoxox**


	2. Stay with me

**Chapter 2 – Stay with me**

Claire woke suddenly in the middle of the night, her eyes snapped open, she was breathing heavily and her face and arms were damp with a cold sweat. Shane's arm tightened around her as he shifted in his sleep, oblivious to Claire's distress in his dormant state. It took Claire a moment to pinpoint what had woken her, there was the same sick feeling in the pit of her stomach that she had been feeling the day before. She moaned and curled up, silently willing for the sick feeling to go away. Shane stirred again in his sleep, this time waking.

"Morning, you." She turned in the circle of his arms to face him. She was met with his trade mark half-awake smile that melted her heart every time.

"Hey." She nuzzled her face into the crook of his neck. Shane slid his hand up from her waist, over her shoulder and up to her chin; he tipped it up with one finger and kissed her softly on her lips. It was like electricity flowing through her veins, it made her feel awake and alive. She wanted Shane to never take his lips of hers, but he did, way too soon for Claire's liking. He seemed to somehow sense this, and dipped his head to kiss her again, this time stronger and more passionately. Suddenly, Claire pulled back, placing her palm flat against Shane's bare chest. "Hold that thought." She slid out of bed and ran out of his bedroom, heading for the bathroom.

It didn't take Shane a long while to follow, but when he finally reached the bathroom, Claire's back was to him as she threw up violently into the toilet. Shane silently padded over to her, gathering up her hair in a make-shift ponytail in his hand, pulling it gently away from her face. With his free hand he rubbed her back comfortingly. "My morning breath isn't _that_ bad, is it?" When she finished vomiting, he knelt down beside her, still with her hair in his hands. She pulled a hair tie from her wrist and Shane took it without even giving her the option of doing it herself. He shuffled around so he was directly behind her, he finger-combed her hair into a proper ponytail and wrapped the tie around it. To Claire's surprise, he was rather good at tying up a girl's hair. He reached up to the sink and pulled down a plastic cup of water before handing it to her. Shane stood up as she washed the foul taste out of her mouth and took several gulps of the cool water. She flushed the toilet, closed the lid and pulled herself up to sit on it. Shane turned back to face her with a damp wash cloth. He knelt down again once more and carefully dabbed her face with the cloth.

"Sorry…" She whispered, looking down at her stubby fingernails.

"Hey…" Shane said; his voice soft and calm, "Look at me…" When she didn't he repeated, "Look at me, Claire."

She did.

"It's not your fault, you're sick, so don't you even dare apologise… Okay?" His voice was so gentle; she just wanted to bury her head into his chest and never have to worry about being sick again. She nodded in response and kissed the top of her head as he stood up. "Brush your teeth and stuff. I'll go and make you breakfast." Claire smiled bravely and used the toilet, showered and brushed her teeth twice, to banish the vulgar taste in her mouth. She looked in the mirror, about to head downstairs when she felt a dizzy wave of nausea overcome her. Her vision went blurry then back into moderate focus. She bit her lip and swiftly left the bathroom, one hand over her stomach. On her way down the stairs, she was greeted with the scent of bacon and scrambled eggs, which would have delighted her on any other day, but today it only added to her nausea. "Shane…" She whimpered helplessly. "Shane…Help…" Shane burst through the kitchen door with a spatula in his hand.

"Claire?" He asked; his voice full of panic. "What's wrong?"

Before she could even think of a reply, she collapsed completely. Shane dropped the spatula and ran over to her, catching her by her shoulders before her head could hit the floor. He cradled her in his lap and screamed for help. "Michael! Eve! Call an ambulance!"

Both their housemates opened their bedroom doors and looked over the balcony at Shane and Claire. "Oh my _God_!" Eve shrieked. By then Michael was already down the stairs, he'd grabbed the phone from the holster and was knelt by Shane.

"Hello? 911? Yeah, we need an ambulance. _Now_." He paused. "The Glass House." He hung up and dashed upstairs at vampire speed. And returned wearing jeans and a polo shirt. He threw Shane a plain grey T-shirt. "Eve's getting dressed. And you can't go to the hospital like that."

**Shane's POV**

The next hour passed in a haze of events. The ambulance arrived and Claire was bundled in. Only one of us was allowed to travel with her, and of course, as her boyfriend, everyone agreed that I should. Eve and Michael went in Michael's vampire tinted sedan and said they would meet me there. I was told to wait in the waiting room while Claire was being poked and prodded to find out what was wrong with her. I paced the hall with my hands laced behind my head, horrible things kept swirling through my head. _Maybe Claire's dying. What if that can't find out what's wrong with her? I can't lose her. I won't. _As soon at the nurse came out, I immediately tensed up, silently praying that she wouldn't come out and tell me that my Claire had died. "You can some through now." She said, smiling comfortingly at me. I breathed an audible sigh of relief and followed her to Claire's room.

When I opened the door I was met with the scent of more vomit. Claire was looking pale and fragile and she'd been hooked up to dozens of machines. "Hey." I said. "How are you feeling?" I pulled up a chair and sat down, entwining my fingers with Claire's.

"Not good. I hate hospitals... You know that." Her voice was so quiet and broken, it made me want to cry. She sighed and looked deeply into my eyes. Her own were half-lidded with tiredness. "Sorry I scared you..."

"Apology accepted." I chuckled a little. "I'm just glad you're alive. Do they know what's wrong with you?"

Claire shook her head slightly. "I over-heard one of the doctors say something about a stomach virus. Maybe cause by food poisoning."

"Who the hell poisoned you?!"

"Not that kind of poisoning, Shane. Just... off food."

My eyes widened. "It was my chili, wasn't it?"

Claire shook her head drowsily. "No, no. Remember, I got ill _before_ you made me chili."

"Oh... yeah..." Her eyelids fluttered and her head lolled to one side. "No... Claire... Don't fall asleep..."

"Still... here..." She managed to say, though we both knew she wouldn't be for long.

"Claire...Please..." I begged, putting a hand on her cheek. Tears spilled out of my eyes and silently hit the floor. "Stay with me..." But she was already asleep.

**Thank you to the person who gave me inspiration, you know who you are. It was a great idea, so thank you. I hope this lives up to your expectations? Sorry if it sucks. :) As always R+R. Thank you! xoxox**


	3. Slipping Away

Chapter 3

**Shane's POV**

The night Claire was taken into hospital, I refused to leave the building, they made me leave her room, but they kindly said I could stay in the waiting room. I paced the halls slowly and finally fell into a light sleep on the uncomfortable chairs. I was woken at around midnight by a short, blond nurse tapping me on the shoulder. "Mr Collins, is it?" When I nodded she sat down next to me and continued, "I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but your girlfriend, Claire… She's slipped into a coma." I was unable to speak. Unable to blink. Unable to move. Unable to breath. Unable to respond. _My Claire… My Claire…in a coma… No, I can't believe it… I WON'T believe it,_ I thought. But I had to believe it, didn't I? Because hospital nurses wouldn't play sick jokes on me like this. I was broken from my trance of despair when she spoke again. "Maybe you should come and see her. Talk to her. Bring your friends. It might help her wake up if she has loved ones talking to her while she's unconscious. I'm not promising anything, but there's always the chance." So I took her advice and pulled out my mobile. I texted Michael and Eve with a 911 text, telling them to get to the hospital, and fast.

As soon as Michael and Eve got into the waiting room, we followed the nurse to Claire's room. She was hooked up to less machines now, just the annoying blippy one that monitored her heart rate, normally that sound would just annoy me, but now it made me think that each _blip_ could be Claire's last. I sank down into the chair at her bedside and held her hand loosely. "Claire…" I was taken aback by how hollow and broken my voice sounded, I didn't bother to clear my voice because right now, my pride and manliness were the last things that mattered. "Claire, can you hear me?" I don't know why I asked it, it's not like she could jump up and say yes. "Claire…If you can hear me… me, Michael and Eve are here… We're not leaving you Claire… not now, not ever." Eve put her hand on my shoulder when tears started to fall from my eyes and land on Claire's hand.

"Oh honey…" She whispered. "She'll make it. You know she will. She's a fighter, Shane, a fighter. Claire doesn't give up; you know that… we all know that."

Minutes turned into hours. Hours turned into days. Days turned into weeks. We all took turns in staying with Claire as much as we could. Michael did the days that me and Eve were at work, and me and Eve did nights while Michael slept. On my days alone with Claire, I'd sung her favourite songs and lullabies, even though we both knew I was tone-deaf. Back when she was still with us, I'd sing her lullabies to get her back to sleep if she'd had a nightmare, I'd lay there with her, whispering these songs to her long after she was asleep.

Michael always took his guitar so he could compose new songs while he was there. And Eve told Claire all the funny things that had happened to her during the day, as if she wasn't unconscious. Eve was the cheery glue that kept us all sane, but one night it was all too much for me. Claire had been in the coma for almost two months, and it was my night alone at the hospital with her. As I did every night, I bribed the hospital staff and doctors to let me stay during the night. By now, I didn't need to use money or blood donations, I just had to show up and ask to stay the night, I'd stayed so many before that they just got used to me being there.

As I always did, I tangled my fingers with Claire's and sunk down into the chair at her bedside. "Hey Claire." I whispered. "So… Tomorrow it's two months since you slipped into this stupid coma. God… you have no idea how much I miss you. How much we all miss you." A lump rose in the back of my throat, I tried unsuccessfully to swallow it down. It was then when I gave up. "God Claire…" I whimpered, tears falling from my eyes and sliding down my cheeks. "Claire… come back to me… Please. You promised... you promised that you'd never leave me… but you are… You're slipping away from me every minute that you're not in my arms." I buried my face in the covers of the hospital bed and sobbed violently, not bothering to even attempt at holding back the tears.

I thought I felt Claire's fingers tighten around mine. I didn't look up because I knew that in the height of my depression, my imagination was playing tricks on me. I thought that until I felt it again. I lifted my head and looked at Claire's face; a light frown had appeared on her smooth skin and her lips were slightly parted. I looked down at her hand at it was true, her fingers had curled around mine. Running on purely on adrenaline, I slammed my thumb into the call button by the side of her bed and pulled my phone out of my jacket pocket. With shaking hands I texted Michael and Eve telling them to come to the hospital right now.

Eve texted back: _911?_

I replied: _Yes!_

The nurse came rushing in. "What's wrong?"

"She's waking up!" I managed to say. Her eyes went wide as she walked briskly to Claire's bedside, checking the monitors. I must have been right because she unclipped a pager from her pocket and pressed numerous buttons before turning back to me.

"Talk to her. Let her know you're here. Tell her to wake up." She told me.

"Claire… Claire, I know you can hear me. Come back to me, please… Please come back to me. Wake up, Claire." Her hand tightened around mine a little more and I looked up to the nurse. She saw it too.

Michael and Eve arrived shortly after Doctor Mills entered the room. He checked all the monitors again and nodded to me. "She heard you. Her heart rate increased when you talked to her." He turned to Michael and Eve. "You can try talking to her, if you wish." They both nodded in reply. I stepped back and they each took one of Claire's hands. Michael and Eve shared a glance, their expressions unreadable.

"Claire Bear? If you can hear me, squeeze my hand." Eve said. Claire must have heard her because her hand tightened around Eve's just a tiny fraction.

Michael was looking utterly mystified, "Claire. Wake up. Please. We miss you."

"Is that all you've got?" Eve demanded. Michael smiled a little and stroked Claire's cheek with his pale hand.

For the next few minutes, Claire became unresponsive. We kept trying but she didn't squeeze our hands. Her face relaxed once more and became pale and blank. Doctor Mills and the nurse had left me Michael and Eve alone in Claire's room, to give us some time alone with her. Doctor Mills had apologized to us and said that it was normal for comatose people to become responsive, before slipping back into unconsciousness. I wanted to curl up next to Claire's dormant body and die. My heart was filled with so much false hope that it was unbearable. But even though I felt all that, I never let go of Claire's hand. Never.

**Claire's POV**

Something felt different. So different. It was like I was being pulled back to reality. I heard voices. So many voices. Swimming around in the space that I was floating in.

It was dark. I was alone. So alone. But I wasn't alone. There were voices. Voices I recognized, but at the same time they were so new to me. A male voice, low and warm. A female voice, high and frightened. Another male voice, angelic and calm. Someone was touching me. Touching my hand. _Holding_ my hand. Someone said my name.

_Claire_

I willed my hand to close around theirs. To let them know that I was listening.

_Wake up, Claire._

But I was awake. Wasn't I? I looked around this space I was floating in. It was so dark. Colours swirled around me. But they weren't colours. They were voices. _Shane. Michael. Eve. _ How could I forget those names? They were here. They were with me. I had to wake up. I needed to wake up. But why was I asleep? This was all so confusing. So many questions. I needed the answers. I willed my eyes to open. And it must have worked. Because the dark space that I was floating in, suddenly became blindingly bright.


	4. The Awakening

Sick Day Chapter 4

**So you guys have been asking and asking about the next chapter, so…Here it is! Enjoy!**

**Shane's POV**

I hate to say it, but I really was starting to lose hope for Claire. It had been over two months now since I lost her to a coma, she kept drifting in and out of responsiveness. I couldn't take it. She was gone. My Claire….Gone. But then the impossible happened. She opened her eyes. I didn't believe it at first, I just stared as her eyelids lifted slowly. As soon as I saw her beautiful eyes that I'd missed so much, I snapped out of my trance and ran to her bedside.

"Claire." I said hurriedly, "Claire… Talk to me. Say something." The tears began to fall again, but this time it was different, they were tears of happiness.

"Shane…" She mumbled, clearing her throat. "Shane." Claire repeated, her tone more steady and sure.

"Oh God. Claire! You're back! You've come back to me!" Before she could reply I bent over her bed and hugged her hard. I could feel her tears on my shoulder and her little hiccupping breaths ruffling my hair. I felt her fragile arms slide around my shoulders and hug me back. When I pulled away, Michael and Eve were at the other side of her bed, smiling at her.

"Hey CB." Said Eve, who also had tears in her eyes.

"Hey." Claire squeaked.

Eve took her hand as Michael kissed her forehead and stroked her hair.

**3****rd**** Person**

In the hours that Shane, Eve and Michael were sent home to rest, the nurses and doctors busied themselves with post-coma checks, and making sure she was ready to be discharged and sent home. They had just disconnected Claire from the numerous machines and tubes when there was a soft knock at her door. The clock read 9:47pm, and her friends had already been sent home, so who could it be?

"Come in." Claire said faintly. Her door swung open slowly and a man in a black suit and mirrored sunglasses stepped in, holding the door as Amelie, Oliver, Myrnin and Hannah stepped in. The suited man closed the door and stood in front of it without a word.

"Young one," Amelie began, "We're glad to have you back with us." Every one of Claire's guests shared the same, happy, sympathetic smile. All except Oliver. Who looked like he's rather be sun bathing on Copa Cabana beach, frying like an insect under a magnifying glass in the sun. He didn't look glad at all. Claire guessed Amelie or Myrnin had dragged him here against his will. Claire noticed the gifts they all held. Hannah had a silver and baby pink balloon in her hand that said 'Welcome Back!' on both sides. Amelie held a bunch of red and white roses. And Myrnin held a red velvet box that was about the size of a DVD case, which was tied with a white bow. As Amelie and Hannah put the balloon by her bedside and the roses in the vase, Myrnin approached, holding the box out to her.

"From all of us. You've earned it, Claire." He smiled that adorably crazy smile and handed her the box, and patted her shoulder.

Claire carefully untied the bow and opened the box. Inside was a small silver photo frame, with the word 'Survivors' engraved at the bottom.

"I thought it fit the occasion rather well." Myrnin grinned.

"Thank you, I love it." Claire beamed at them all.

"We shall leave you to rest, young Claire. We just couldn't turn down the opportunity to come and visit you now that you are with us once more." Amelie was the first to leave, the suited man holding the door for her. Myrnin nodded and followed the silent Oliver out of the door. Hannah, who had remained speechless throughout , hung behind to look at Claire for a moment with admiration.

"I always knew you were strong. You're a fighter Claire. We don't have many true fighters in this town. Seems that house has done you good after all." She left before Claire had time to reply, nodding to Amelie's guard. She thought her imagination was playing tricks on her, she thought she saw Amelie's guard nod slightly at her, as if acknowledging her existence for once.

A smile tugged at the edges of her mouth as she laid her head down, and drifted slowly to sleep.

The next day, Claire woke early to find Shane had come to pick her up. He'd brought her some clothes and shoes for her to go home in. He stroked her cheek and waited outside the bathroom door for her to change.

Once she was ready, with her gift and balloon in hand, he picked up the roses and lead Claire out of the hospital towards Eve's car. Claire thought it was strange that Shane had borrowed Eve's car to pick her up, and that Eve wasn't with him. It was a Tuesday so she was supposed to be at the UC coffee bar. She shook it out of her mind to enjoy the fresh early morning air and the ride home.

The front door was a sight for Claire's sore eyes, she'd missed the sight of her home and her friends. She stopped on the porch and frowned at Shane.

"What is it, Claire? What's wrong?" Shane asked, his voice calm, but with an edge of panic.

"You sang to me." She tilted her head to the side and Shane blushed. "I remember."

Shane pushed open the door, smiling secretly. As soon as Claire rounded the corner into the living room, the lights flicked on and Eve, Shane and Michael all jumped up and screamed; "WELCOME HOME, CLAIRE!"

She jumped back and blinked in surprise. Her friends had organised a surprise party to welcome her home. She felt like crying.

**So there you go. I said I'd do it and I did. This chapter kind of sucked so I'm going to try and make the next one better. I hoped you liked it anyway **** Please R+R oxoxoxo**


	5. The Intrusion

**Chapter 5**

"Oh my gosh, you guys…." Claire said, with both hands placed over her heart. "I didn't-…. You didn't have to do this for me…"

"Of course we did." Eve said cheerily, jumping up and down on her toes in excitement. She was wearing a purple, shiny cone party hat, and looking around the room, so Michael was wearing a silver one and looking behind at Shane, she saw that he was just putting on a green one and holding out a blue one to her. Grinning, she took it from him and slipped it on, feeling silly, but not really caring. Shane kissed her on the cheek and went to stand with Michael and eve, facing her. Tears welled up in her eyes as she looked around the room, noticing the "Welcome home!" banners and multi-coloured paper chains strung up all over the living room.

"Aww. Don't cry." Shane said, sincerely, gazing at her with his gorgeous brown eyes. She couldn't help it any longer. She flung herself at them, hugging them all as a group. They hugged her back immediately. She shed a single tear, feeling part of the world again. She stepped back after a moment, a large smile on her face.

The party was amazing. It lasted for hours, and yet none of them were tired one bit. They danced, laughed, joked and just generally had a good time. Eve even broke out Twister and Claire laughed as Michael and Shane both ended up falling to the floor in a tangled heap. When Claire and Eve's turn came around, Claire wished she hadn't laughed. It was harder than she remembered from birthday parties when she was 8. Still, she was smaller and more petite than Eve, and ended up winning, which earned her a hug and a quick kiss from Shane. Michael played them a few new songs on his guitar as Claire sat cradled in Shane's lap.

All the laughing came to an abrupt pause as there was an unexpected knock at the door. Claire jumped up from Shane reluctantly, silently volunteering to answer the door. She opened it, still grinning from the latest joke Shane had just told her. The smile immediately left her face as she saw who was at the door. Standing there in a long black leather coat, blending in with the evening darkness was the last person she wanted to see. Oliver. She only had a split second to figure out who it was, because as soon as their eyes met, he threw himself at her, his hand gripping her throat tight enough to cut off her air supply. The force threw her back into the wall behind her, banging her head on the plaster, hard enough to make her go dizzy and for the world to turn black for a second. She blinked, seeing a haze around the edges of her vision. She stared wide-eyed into Oliver's snarling face.

"YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO BE DEAD!" He bellowed furiously.

Michael was at his back in a split second. He must have been holding a stake at his back because Oliver loosened his grip on Claire's throat, letting her slide back to the ground and land on the floor in a rumpled, gasping heap, clutching her sore throat. Shane came to kneel beside her, taking her up in his arms and rocking back and forth gently.

"Leave Claire alone, Oliver." Michael snarled, still holding the stake point in Oliver's back.

"What do you mean 'supposed to be dead'?" Shane shouted. "Did you do this to Claire?" Fury rose in his eyes, it was all Claire could do to hold his forearm tightly, stopping him from getting up to face off Oliver.

"Of course I did, boy. Are you_ really _that stupid?" Oliver scolded.

Shane tensed, evidently wanting to get up and show Oliver how he felt about that. But he refrained as Claire slid her hand around his waist and looped a finger in his jean's belt loop for good measure, as if tying herself to him.

"What did you do to her?" Michael snarled into Oliver's ear, the anger growing in his face.

"Poisoned her, of course." Oliver said, light-heartedly.

Michael pushed the stake harder, making Oliver wince. "Why?" He demanded.

"Why not?" Oliver grinned.

"You b-…" Michael looked as though he was about to lose his patience and stake him then and there, but Eve put a pale hand silently on his shoulder which made him calm down….a little.

"I poisoned her because I don't like her. It's as simple as that…. And…. It's the perfect way to get to Amelie. To poison her pet. It was a pretty good plan if you ask me… I mean, untraceable poison. I could get used to the twenty-first century." He babbled.

"Well, no one asked you about your plan!" Eve snapped, speaking for the first time. "Amelie's on her w-…" She couldn't finish because the woman herself strode through the still-open doorway, followed by her two guards, who surveyed the area with their sunglass-covered eyes before taking Oliver in an iron hard grip and escorting him out. Amelie put a hand up, signalling the guards to pause. They did.

"I will deal with you later, old friend." She said coldly. Somehow the room felt suddenly about 10 degrees colder. She nodded and the guards took Oliver out into the night, no telling where or what was going to happen to him. Amelie fixed her cold stare on Claire, still cradled in Shane's arms on the floor. "You're alright." She said plainly and turned and left, the door swinging shut behind her.

"That's it? Not even 'Are you alright?' Wow… that woman is cold." Eve complained. Michael put the stake in his back pocket so he could use two hands to hug her. He looked over Eve's shoulder to Claire.

"Are you alright?" He asked, his voice as angelic and soft as ever.

She nodded in reply, burying her face in Shane's chest.

"I'll take her upstairs." Shane offered, before scooping Claire up in a bridal carry and heading up the stairs. He backed into his room, using his foot to push open the door, and laid her gently on his bed, pulling the covers over her tenderly, leaving a soft kiss on her forehead. She whined as he started to stand up to leave, grabbing the neck of his t-shirt and pulling him towards her. He got the message and climbed over her to slip in bed beside her, circling her in his strong arms, pulling her closer to him, warming her back instantly from the heat that radiated off his chest. The prospect of sleep felt like a distant hope after what had just happened, but Claire was happy just to be held by Shane. Even as he drifted to sleep behind her, she still felt safe and completely protected.

**So… here you go; The next chapter! I hope you enjoyed it! ^_^ I promise I'll get around to updating my other stories, but with the summer holidays and getting ready to go back to school, I've not had the time. So be patient with me :D Thanks guys for all your support, R + R as always, thanks oxoxox**


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